European Patent Application No. 91 113 484.9 describes a drop-wire separation device, in which the dividing-off member is formed by a friction wheel which is pressed against the foremost dropwire and which pushes the latter out of the stack in the longitudinal direction into an intermediate position, in which the dropwire is grasped by a transport means and separated completely from its stack by this. In this separation device, problems can arise if the dropwires cannot slide undisturbed on one another. The latter occurs especially when the dropwires have burrs in the region of their yarn eyelet or any slide-inhibiting residues on their surface.